Visiting a school unannounced

[lasgirl]

I was accepted into what is basically my dream school, with no word of funding yet (which would be a dealbreaker). As it turns out, I'll be in the city (and actually staying very close!) where the school is tomorrow morning for work. Would it be weird to just drop in on the department and be like "hey guys, you admitted me, I have a few questions" or would that be okay? I would have notified them earlier if I had the chance but I didn't know!

Thanks

[LJK]

I would send an email to your POI or the grad director - whoever you would like to ask questions of to see if they will be around. If you just show up they might be too busy, not having planned for you. Also, it is spring break season - if they are on spring break, who is in the department vs. traveling vs. simply working a home will vary significantly. Even the 24 hour notice might get you a better visit than dropping in out of the blue.

[runonsentence]

Personally, I wouldn't just drop in (even though this seems serendipitously convenient, I understand the temptation!). Some programs warn explicitly against this on their websites. Even if they don't, people are busy, and while you could get lucky—making time for an unexpected prospective student might not bother some people—there's the chance that the person you drop in on could be grumpy about it. If it were me, the last thing I'd want to do is take the chance of souring the taste of my top choice school for myself by having an uncomfortable visit with someone who's annoyed I've popped in.

Definitely try emailing. I've emailed POI and DGS on short notice before; depending on the person, they're sometimes surprisingly responsive if you ask for 15 minutes of their time in an email a day or two beforehand.

[lasgirl]

Thanks guys I emailed the DGS but either way, I'll be going over just to wander around campus (after falling in love with the school for undergrad and being rejected, it's going to feel awesome to walk around again knowing that this time they want me! haha) and hopefully will hear from someone about stopping by!

[lasgirl]

Update: the DGS wrote back within about 15 minutes and we've set up a time to meet tomorrow Thanks!!